Clandon CofE Aided Primary School

Inspection of Clandon CofE Aided Primary School The Street, West Clandon, Guildford, Surrey GU4 7ST

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Inspection dates: 21 and 22 September 2022

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Overall effectiveness Good

The quality of education Good Behaviour and attitudes Good Personal development Good Leadership and management Good Early years provision Good Previous inspection grade Requires improvement 21 and 22 September 2022

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy learning in this welcoming school. They talk with enthusiasm about their work. Staff are ambitious for all pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). They support pupils to learn well. Pupils are helped to develop resilience even when they find work challenging.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Staff have high expectations of how pupils should behave. Children in Reception swiftly learn the routines which develop their independence, such as when clearing away after lunch. Pupils are respectful to each other and to staff. Leaders provide extra support for pupils to help them make positive behaviour decisions when required. Bullying does happen on occasion, and leaders are quick to sort out concerns effectively.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils value the kindness of everyone in the school. They appreciate how staff support and listen to them. This helps them to feel safe. New pupils are welcomed and make friends quickly. One pupil commented that ‘everyone is loving and caring’.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Leaders provide a variety of experiences. This includes forest school, where pupils learn different skills, including how to use tools safely. Pupils attend a range of clubs such as cooking, dance and archery. They are keen to develop leadership skills by being a member of the school council.

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better?

This is an inclusive school. The headteacher has raised the aspiration of staff so they share an ambition for every individual to learn well. Leaders are quick to identify pupils’ needs and they work well with external agencies to ensure that pupils get the help they need. Staff skilfully adapt their teaching so that the high proportion of pupils with SEND have effective support. Teachers value the support they receive from leaders to achieve this. Parents and carers appreciate the care for individual pupils. One parent commented that her child is ‘flourishing every day’.

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better?

Some children join the school with weak language skills, so staff prioritise developing them from the very start of Reception. Leaders have identified words that pupils in all year groups should learn in different subjects. This equips pupils with the vocabulary to talk about their learning with confidence and accuracy. For example, Year 5 pupils used their knowledge from history lessons to speak eloquently about Boudicca’s rebellion against the Romans.

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better?

Leaders have introduced a new programme to help pupils learn to read fluently. Staff follow the scheme closely. Leaders provide high-quality training, which has equipped staff with expert knowledge. Pupils read books that are matched closely to the sounds they have learned and they reread texts to improve their confidence and fluency. Struggling readers are given effective extra support to help them catch up. Pupils are inspired to love stories and reading. They enjoy their teachers routinely 21 and 22 September 2022

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reading aloud a wide range of books. This exposes pupils to texts they might not otherwise read and motivates them to read independently and often.

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Leaders and staff have successfully redesigned the rest of the curriculum, including mathematics, from Reception onwards. This curriculum thinking has strengthened staff subject knowledge. Teachers have identified and sequenced the knowledge and skills they intend pupils to learn. Staff support pupils to make connections with what they have previously been taught. However, teachers do not consistently check that pupils have learned the most important content. Leaders plan to refine some of the curriculum thinking to help staff emphasize the essential learning and then check what pupils have learned and remembered.

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A few subject leaders are new to their role. They understand the design of the curriculum but have not had the opportunity to visit lessons, look at books or talk to pupils about their learning. Consequently, they do not know how best to ensure that pupils are learning as is intended. Leaders have identified this as an area to be addressed.

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The governing body has a strong understanding of the school’s strengths and areas to develop. They complete visits to assure themselves about aspects of the school’s work. During the COVID-19 pandemic, governors focused on pupils’ learning in English and mathematics. They have recently broadened their attention to other subjects.

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Pupils enjoy positive attitudes to learning. Occasionally, there is low-level disruption in lessons, but staff address any issues quickly. Leaders have improved attendance over time, but some pupils do not attend school regularly enough. They recognise that there is still work to do to ensure that every pupil attends regularly.

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Leaders promote personal development well. They provide valuable experiences to develop pupils’ social and emotional skills. Pupils learn what a healthy relationship is and how to be a good friend. One pupil commented: ‘We always help a friend in need.’

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Leaders provide high-quality training so that staff are alert to the signs that may indicate that a pupil is at risk of harm. Staff understand their role in helping to keep pupils safe. They report even the smallest concerns promptly. Leaders and staff are diligent in their approach to record-keeping to ensure that pupils and families swiftly get the help they need. This keeps pupils safe from the risk of further harm.

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Safeguarding

Pupils learn how to keep themselves safe. This includes learning about managing risk and road and online safety. They say that school is a safe place to be. 21 and 22 September 2022

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Some curriculum thinking in wider subjects needs further refinement. Currently, teachers are not consistently checking that pupils have learned and remembered the essential content. Consequently, they do not always identify gaps in pupils’ knowledge. Leaders should continue to develop curriculum planning from Reception to Year 6 so that teachers know what pupils will learn over time.  Some subject leaders are new to their role. This means they have not had the opportunity yet to check how well pupils are learning. Leaders should ensure that they are equipped with the skills needed to refine curriculum thinking and check how well pupils are learning the key knowledge and skills.  Some pupils do not attend school regularly enough. This means they are missing out on important learning. Leaders should continue their work to support families so that these pupils’ attendance improves.

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How can I feed back my views?

or to find out what other parents and carers think. We use information from Ofsted Parent View when deciding which schools to inspect, when to inspect them and as part of their inspection.

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How can I feed back my views?

The Department for Education has further guidance on how to complain about a school.

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Further information

You can search for published performance information about the school.

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Further information

In the report, ‘disadvantaged pupils’ refers to those pupils who attract government pupil premium funding: pupils claiming free school meals at any point in the last six years and pupils in care or who left care through adoption or another formal route. 21 and 22 September 2022

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Date of previous inspection 13 and 14 March 2019, under section 5 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The headteacher started in her role in September 2019.  In April 2021, the school federated with Shere CofE Aided Infant School to make Newlands CofE School Federation under one governing body and one headteacher.  Almost all staff and governors have joined the school since the previous inspection.  The governing body manages before-school childcare provision.  This school is a voluntary aided Church of England school in the Diocese of Guildford. Its last section 48 inspection took place in September 2015.  The school uses one provider of registered alternative provision. 21 and 22 September 2022

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Information about this inspection

 The inspectors carried out this graded inspection under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.  This was the first routine inspection the school received since the COVID-19 pandemic began. The inspectors discussed the impact of the pandemic with leaders and have taken that into account in their evaluation of the school.  The inspectors met with the headteacher, the school leader and other school staff.  The lead inspector also met with members of the governing body, including the chair, and spoke to a representative from the local authority and diocese.  The inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: early reading, mathematics, art and design and history. For each deep dive, inspectors discussed the curriculum with subject leaders, visited a sample of lessons, spoke to teachers, spoke to some pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work.  To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, inspectors spoke with staff and

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Information about this inspection

pupils. The lead inspector met with the designated safeguarding lead to review their knowledge, records and actions. The inspectors also looked at safeguarding records and actions and reviewed information about the safer recruitment of staff.  To make wider judgements, inspectors spoke to staff and groups of pupils from different year groups and observed behaviour in classrooms and at lunchtime.  The views of staff and pupils, including responses to Ofsted’s online staff survey, were considered.  Parents’ responses to Ofsted Parent View, Ofsted’s online survey, including written responses, were also taken into account.

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Inspection team

Laurie Anderson, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Paul Bateman Ofsted Inspector 21 and 22 September 2022

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regulates and inspects to achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children’s social care, and inspects the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, further education and skills, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children’s services, and inspects services for children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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